


Stop & Reset

by pleasanthell



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-29
Updated: 2017-01-29
Packaged: 2018-09-20 17:30:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9502475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pleasanthell/pseuds/pleasanthell
Summary: Alex could feel it in her gut. Maggie wasn't really going to a conference and she wasn't telling Alex the whole truth.





	1. Chapter 1

Alex pulled her car to a stop in the drop-off lane at the airport.

Maggie smiled at her. “Thanks.” She leaned over and kissed Alex, opening the door. “I’ll see you Monday.”

Alex squished her lips to one side. “Why don’t I come with you? We can make a weekend of it. I just read an article about all the best restaurants in Star City.” She watched Maggie slow her movements.

Maggie licked her lips. “I’ll be in classes all day. It’ll be boring for you.” She looked over at Alex. She forced an unconvincing smile. “Why doesn’t the DEO send you to training conferences?”

There was something off about how Maggie was acting. She was avoiding questions, leaving out details. She’d been like that for days, ever since Maggie had told her about a conference she had to go to in Star City. Alex didn’t want to say anything though. Alex offered an equally unconvincing smile. “No one has seminars on how to deal with aliens.”

“Guess you’re right,” Maggie grabbed her bag from the backseat and was careful not to hit Alex with it as she brought it to the front. She stopped moving completely and looked at Alex. There was a flicker of a smile – a real smile – on her face. She put her hand on Alex’s cheek when she kissed her again. She kissed her deeply and tenderly. When she broke the kiss, Maggie pressed her forehead to Alex’s, “I love you.”

“Maggie, what’s going on?” Alex whispered.

Maggie knew she couldn’t keep it from Alex. Alex was one of the best investigators she’d ever met. She sighed and knocked her knuckles again her thigh. “No-nothing. I’ll call you when I get there.” She opened her door and got out of the car. She leaned over to look at Alex. “Take a good look, Danvers. The next time you see me, I’ll be a better investigator.”

“Don’t change too much.” Alex’s words were half-hearted. Maggie stood up and started to close the door when Alex quickly called, “Maggie!”

Maggie stopped the door from closing and leaned back into the car. “Yeah?”

“I love you too,” Alex added.

The smile fell from Maggie’s face and she nodded. Then she stood up straight and closed the door.

Alex sat in place for a moment, trying to decide what to do. Half of her wanted to chase Maggie into the airport to find out what was happening and half of her was yelling at the other half to trust Maggie. A car honking behind her made up her mind for her. She pulled away from the drop-off and pressed the touch screen on her car. She pressed the phone icon and then called the person she always wanted to talk to when she was unsure about anything.

“Hey!” Kara answered happily, her voice filling Alex’s car. “You will never guess what I’m eating.”

“Ice cream waffles,” Alex answered.

Kara hummed in disappointment. “How did you know?”

“You whispered ‘ice cream waffles’ four times under your breath this morning,” Alex cracked a smile. Then it faded away when she remembered why she called Kara. “Maggie is acting weird.”

“Weird how?” Kara asked, with an obvious mouthful.

“I don’t know,” Alex leaned on the door of her car as she drove. “She’s… she’s not… she’s not lying, but… there’s something she’s not telling me.”

Kara paused thoughtfully. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Alex tapped her steering wheel. “There’s something in Star City she doesn’t want me to know about.”

“Do you want me to fly to Star City and… run into her?” Kara asked.

“No,” Alex answered quickly. “No. I… I trust her.”

Kara was quiet.

“I do!” Alex insisted.

“I didn’t say you didn’t,” Kara quietly replied.

Alex stopped at a red light and rubbed her eyes. “I gotta – I gotta go. I’ll see you later.”

“I’m sure everything’s fine, Alex,” Kara added. “She loves you.”

“I know,” Alex sighed. “I know.”

Alex made it all the way into work and halfway through her day before Maggie called her. No matter her feelings about their last conversation, Alex was always excited to talk to Maggie. “Hey. How was your flight?”

“It was great,” Maggie paused. “No it wasn’t. I can’t… You were right this morning. Something is wrong. I spent the whole flight thinking about it and it’s not fair to you not to tell you.” Maggie sounded panicked.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Alex moved into the nearest unoccupied space and crossed her arms. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

“I’m going to, but… not over the phone.” Maggie sighed. “Uh, is there any way you can get to Star City? Tonight?”

Alex looked at the nearest clock. “Uh, yeah. I’ll get on the first plane out.”

There was a long silence over the phone before Maggie spoke. “Thank you, Alex.”

Alex didn’t even go to her apartment to pack a bag. She just grabbed some clothes out of her locker at the DEO and called Kara after she bought her ticket. Their conversation was short and Kara was worried. She offered to fly to Star City again and Alex told her maybe after Maggie told her what she had to say.

The whole flight, Alex couldn’t focus on one thing. She tried to watch the in-flight movie, but her eyes glazed over after a few seconds and all she saw were swirling colors. She tried to do some work on her phone, but every case reminded her of Maggie so she gave up and stared out the window at the changing landscape, wondering what Maggie was going to tell her.

Alex texted Kara in mid-air. _She wouldn’t have my fly across the country to break up with me, would she?_

_Of course not!_ Kara texted back.  _That would be cruel._

Alex nodded to her phone. Kara was right. But she couldn’t image what it was. Was Maggie sick? Was she secretly an alien? Was she really working for Cadmus? All the terrible things that Alex thought of didn’t help her anxiety so when she stepped off of the plane, she practically ran to a taxi and asked the driver to go as quickly as possible to Maggie’s hotel. 

When she got there, she swiped her credit card as quickly as she could and walked very quickly inside with her small bag over her shoulder. The lobby was large and grand with a massive chandelier and roaring fireplace. 

Alex dialed Maggie and put her phone to her ear. But before there was an answer, she heard a ringtone. Alex’s head whipped toward the fireplace and saw Maggie sitting in the armchair next to it with her head in her hands. She heard Maggie sniffle before raising her head to see who was calling. 

“Maggie,” Alex hung up and walked over to the fireplace. “What’s wrong?”

Maggie was shocked to see Alex standing in front of her, but stood from her chair and pocketed her phone. Her eyes were pink and her nose was running. She’d obviously been crying. 

“Maggie?” Alex asked, terrified of what Maggie was going to tell her. 

Maggie took Alex’s hand and pulled her toward the elevator. “Let’s go to my room.”

Alex went along with Maggie’s prodding because she didn’t know what else to do. She followed Maggie into the elevator and when she doors closed, she let go of Maggie’s hand. Maggie looked at Alex, immediately hurt, but realized Alex let go so that she could put her arms around her. 

Maggie sighed and fresh tears welled in her eyes. “Alex...” 

Alex kissed Maggie’s forehead. She wanted to tell Maggie that no matter what it was, they could work it out, but she wasn’t sure. She had never seen Maggie so shaken. 

They walked quickly to the room and Maggie’s shaking hand had trouble getting the key into the slot. Eventually, she made it and opened the door for Alex. 

Alex walked into the room. She saw that the bed was still made and Maggie bag was lying on top of it. She paused on her way to the bed near the dresser. There were fliers for the leadership conference that Maggie was going to. “There’s actually a conference.”

Maggie froze in place and shook her head. “Of course there is.”

“I’m sorry. I just thought...” Alex swallowed. She slowly sat down on the bed. “What did you want to tell me?” Alex set her bag down next to Maggie’s.

Maggie let go of her surprise and anger that Alex thought she lied about the conference. “I only agreed to come to that stupid conference for… another reason.” Maggie paced in front of the bed. She knocked her knuckles together and paused to look out the window. “I just want you to know that…” Maggie paused and shook her head. She walked to the bed and stood in front of Alex, looking down at her. There was a fear in Maggie’s eyes like Alex had never seen. 

Alex wanted to stand up and comfort Maggie. She wanted to hug her and kiss her and tell her it would be okay, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t physically stand up and make herself touch Maggie. She was also scared to death of what Maggie was going to say.

“I volunteered to come because...” Maggie put her head in her hands and pushed her hair back. She forced herself to look at Alex’s eyes when she finished. “This is where my daughter lives.”

Alex blinked. That was definitely not what she was expecting. She blinked again. “I-um, your daughter?”

Maggie nodded. She sniffled. “I… She’s five and so big and I didn’t tell you because I was embarrassed.”

“You were embarrassed because you have a daughter?” Alex asked.

“I was embarrassed because I don’t have custody of her,” Maggie started pacing again. She rubbed her forehead. “I had just realized I was gay when I got pregnant with her. My husband… ex-husband… was furious when I told him.” Tears spilled down Maggie’s cheeks when she explained. She looked at Alex to see a blank stare so she continued. “We still lived in the Midwest and some places are still so backwards there.” She moved to the window and crossed her arms, leaning back on the sill. She reached into her back pocket and took out a photo. She looked at it, tapped it against her palm, and handed it to Alex. “I’ve been trying to get at least partial custody her whole life, but I didn’t make enough money working there so...” Maggie swallowed. “I moved to National City. I figured I wasn’t allowed to see her anyway so it didn’t matter where I was.” 

Alex took the silence to process everything. She looked down at the photo of the girl for a few minutes before looking back at Maggie. “That’s terrible.”

“I know,” Maggie slid to the floor and pulled her knees to her chest. “I’m a horrible person.”

“No,” Alex set the photo down, moved off of the bed and sat next to Maggie. She kept her hands to herself, but leaned close to Maggie. “It’s horrible that they wouldn’t let you see her.”

Maggie looked up at Alex. She was still worried and it was evident in her face. She took a shaky breath. “My ex got caught insider trading and he’s going to jail. I didn’t even know he’d moved her until the alert I have in the criminal database popped up on my phone yesterday. Jamie’s with child services right now, but… I have full custody of her starting tomorrow because this is a city and the judge isn’t a homophobe.”

Alex took a deep breath. “Oh boy.”

Maggie quickly got up, distancing herself form Alex. She crossed her arms tight in front of herself and walked away. “Look, I know you didn’t sign up for this.” Maggie opened her mouth, but couldn’t seem to find the words. “I’ll pay for your ticket back to National City. I just… wanted to tell you in person and I can’t leave Star City until tomorrow.” Maggie put her hands over her mouth and looked at Alex who was staring at the side of the bed from her spot on the floor under the window. 

“I need to pee,” Alex abruptly stood up and marched into the bathroom. She closed the door and sat on the toilet, taking her phone out. 

_Maggie has a daughter._

Kara texted back almost immediately.  _What?!?!_

_She didn’t have custody but she does now._

Her phone rang and she answered it, running her hand through her hair. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Kara greeted her sister. She was quiet on the phone, waiting for Alex to speak. When Alex didn’t speak, Kara did. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t – I don’t know,” Alex looked at the white tile on the floor and the tan door. 

Kara exhaled slowly. “Whatever you do, I support you, okay?”

Alex leaned forward, her forearms on her knees. “Why didn’t she tell me?”

“I don’t kno-” Kara started, but Alex interrupted her.

Alex stood up from the toilet and started pacing the bathroom. “That idiot judge in middle of nowhere Midwest wouldn’t give her custody because she’s gay? That’s  _ her _ daughter. I can’t believe that. I mean, what year is it?”

“You’re ri-”

“And her asshole ex wouldn’t let her see her daughter,” Alex put her hand on her hip. “Can you imagine? Years without seeing your child?”

“I can’t eve-”

“And now Jaime probably doesn’t even know who Maggie is,” Alex’s voice grew quiet. “She’ll be living with an essential stranger because her dad is an asshole.” Alex paused her rant and leaned on the bathroom counter. 

Kara piped up softly. “Her name is Jaime?”

“Yeah,” Alex answered. She ran her hand through her hair. She broke into a tiny smile. “She looked just like Maggie.”

“I bet she’s beautiful,” Kara added. 

“She is,” Alex looked at the sink and closed her eyes. “Kara, I don’t know if I’m ready for this.”

Kara took a long moment to gather her words. “I wish I could tell you the right thing to do.”

Alex swallowed a large lump of emotions in her throat. She bit her lip. “I should go.”

“Okay,” Kara replied. “Call me. If you need me, I can be there in an hour tops.”

Alex smiled. “I think there might be a panic if Supergirl showed up unannounced in Star City for no reason.”

“I can come at night,” Kara’s smile was evident in her voice. “You can tell everyone it was a shooting star.”

Alex grinned. “I love you, Kara. Thanks.”

“I love you too,” Kara answered. 

Alex hung up and put her phone in her pocket. She turned on the sink and put her hands under them, trying to keep up the facade that she actually used the toilet. 

When she opened the bathroom door though, she could see that Maggie wasn’t actually monitoring the bathroom. Maggie was pacing near the bed with her phone to her ear. “Uh huh, I understand.” Maggie nodded and hung up the phone. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she looked up, she was surprised to find Alex standing in the doorway of the bathroom, looking at her.

“Everything okay?” Alex asked.

Maggie nodded. “Just my attorney giving me the details for tomorrow.” Maggie looked more nervous that Alex had ever seen her and she’d seen Maggie with plenty of guns pointed at her. 

Alex blinked slowly. “I wish you’d told me.”

“I should have,” Maggie put her hands in her jacket pockets. “It’s just so pathetic that I couldn’t get custody of my own daughter. I’m a cop. I’m a good cop and I.. they wouldn’t let me see her.” Maggie sniffled hard and sat on the bed. She sighed heavily. 

Alex could see how terrified Maggie was. She could only imagine what it was like to be in Maggie’s shoes. She moved toward her and sat on the bed next to her. “I think, I’ll fly back today. And you should… you should focus on your daughter.” Alex looked behind Maggie and picked up the picture of Jaime. “She’s what’s important right now. We’ll talk about us… later.”

Maggie’s eyes became glossy with tears. “I’m so sorry, Alex.”


	2. Chapter 2

Alex’s flight back to Capital City was quiet while her thoughts rioted in her head. She drove straight to Kara’s apartment where her sister opened the door in her pajama pants and a tank top. Kara hugged Alex before saying anything. 

Before she knew it, Alex was on the couch under a blanket, drinking beer and eating ice cream straight from the tub. “You want to know something stupid?” Alex asked.

Kara smirked. “Always.”

Alex smiled at her sister before refocusing. “I can picture it in my head. Me and Maggie and Jaime. Going to museums and playing in the park. I can – I can see it.” Alex used her spoon to draw small circles next to her head. “I can see pancakes in the morning and helping Jaime with her homework.” Alex looked at Kara. “Is that crazy?”

Kara leaned back in the corner of the couch and smiled. “No. It’s not.” She put her arms around her sister. “You love Maggie and you’re great with kids.”

“But she never told me,” Alex stabbed her spoon into the ice cream. 

Kara nodded. “She should have told you.”

Alex went quiet. She put the ice cream on the coffee table and checked her phone. Maggie hadn’t called or texted. Not that Alex had any reason to expect her to. 

Alex dropped her phone next to the ice cream and leaned into Kara. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Me either,” Kara wrapped her arms around her sister and kissed the top of her head. 

After drinking too much to drive home, Alex fell asleep on Kara’s couch. She woke up with a slight headache and a blanket wrapped tightly around her. 

She heard Kara moving around and sat up. She looked toward the kitchen where she expected Kara to be scrounging around for breakfast, but instead Supergirl was walking out of her bedroom. Alex stood up. “What’s going on?”

“Bank robbery,” Kara explained. “J’onn wants you to go in as soon as you can. He thinks the robbers might be extraterrestrial.”

“Okay,” Alex looked around for her shoes and grabbed them on her way out the door. 

When she got to the DEO, Kara had already been at the bank for ten minutes, punching rogue aliens and rescuing hostages. Things went a bit more smoothly when Alex used all the surveillance cameras to help her spot incoming attacks. When Kara had rounded up the bad guys, Alex rode with a team to the bank and apprehend them. 

Alex and Kara stood in front of the bank, watching the robbers get herded into the collection van. Alex had her arms crossed and was staring at the ground, her mind evidently not on the bank robbery.

“Any word from Maggie?” Kara asked. 

Alex shook her head, but checked her phone again anyway. “She’s not going to call me first.” Alex put her phone away. “She needs time with Jaime anyway.”

“Wanna come over and watch Netflix after you file your incident reports?” Kara asked.

“Please.” Alex turned and started walking toward the DEO van. “My brain needs a reality vacation.”

Back at the DEO, Alex sat at her computer and typed up her paperwork, but found herself checking her phone every few minutes for a blinking green light indicating a message. Finally halfway through her report, she picked up her phone and typed out a quick message. It was short and friendly.  _ Let me know when you land. I want to make sure you get back okay. _ After tapping send, she put her phone face down on the table so she wouldn’t see if there was a reply.

But three minutes later, it was killing her so she picked up the phone to find a text. She opened it.  _ We’re waiting to board right now. Heard there was a bank robbery involving you-know-whats. Everyone okay? _

Alex smiled at Maggie’s concern.  _ Supergirl got knocked around a bit, but no one was seriously injured. _

_ I hope Supergirl gets enough ice cream to recover _ . Maggie texted back. Another message appeared shortly after.  _ We’re boarding now. Thanks for coming today.  _

Alex looked at the text conversation she was having and ran her finger down the side of her phone. She sent one last text before Maggie had to turn her phone off.  _ Let me know when you land. _

Alex didn’t put her phone down until she got a reply. 

_ Sure thing, Danvers. ;) _

Alex smiled at her phone and turned the screen off. 

She didn’t get another text until she was comfy on Kara’s couch, three episodes into a binge.  _ Landed and home. _

Alex wasn’t sure what to text back, but went with her gut.  _ Good. Call me if you need anything _ . She put her phone to sleep and placed it on the coffee table. 

“Was that Maggie?” Kara asked after waiting for Alex to voluntarily tell her. 

Alex looked toward her sister and nodded. “I asked her to let me know when they landed and said if she needed anything to call me.”

“Oh,” Kara dug out a kernel of popcorn out of the bowl in her lap and put it in her mouth. She looked toward the TV, knowing full well that Alex was still looking at her.

“What?” Alex asked. 

“What what?” Kara asked back, looking at her sister. 

“You said ‘oh’,” Alex turned to face Kara. “What does ‘oh’ mean?”

Kara put her hands on the rim of the popcorn bowl and looked into it like she’d lost something. She furrowed her brow at the bowl. “I can’t see through this. Is there lead in it?”

“In a bowl?” Alex looked down at the bowl, but realized Kara was lying and trying to dodge the question. She grabbed the bowl and took it away, placing it on the table. “What does ‘oh’ mean?”

Kara sighed with her hands in her lap. “I don’t know. It just means that you still care about her.”

“I do,” Alex bit her bottom lip. “It doesn’t just go away.”

Kara scooted closer to Alex and pushed Alex’s hair out of her face. “I know, honey.” She moved her hand so that Alex could slid down the couch and rest her head in Kara’s lap. “Do you want it to go away?”

Alex closed her eyes, reveling in the feeling of Kara playing with her hair. “No. I love Maggie. I like loving Maggie. I don’t completely understand why she didn’t tell me.”

Kara didn’t want to comment on why or why not Maggie told her, or why it did or didn’t matter. It was something Alex had to find out for herself. 

They watched another two episodes before Alex stood up off of the couch and announced herself ready to go home. Kara walked her to the door and hugged her, making Alex to promise and call her when she got the chance. 

Alex nodded and walked out of the apartment, thoughtfully making her way to her car. She didn’t go straight home. She stopped by a small shop by Maggie’s apartment and picked up one of the only stuffed animals there. Technically it was a cephalopod, but Alex wasn’t going to argue with the tag on it. She got the light blue octopus and a two six packs, one actual beer, and one root beer. 

When she got close to Maggie’s apartment, she debated ringing the doorbell or not. She wasn’t sure soda and a small octopus were appropriate gifts for a girl who met her mom for the first time a few hours ago. She wasn’t sure alcohol was what she should be bringing Maggie. But she was just going to leave her gifts on the mat. However, when she rounded the corner, Maggie was standing next to an open trash bag, looking through a wad of ripped plastic. 

“Is everything okay?” Alex asked, confused. 

Maggie looked up at Alex. She took in Alex’s armfuls of gifts and smiled. “Uh, yeah. I mean… not really. I’m trying to put together Jaime’s bed, but I think I’m missing a piece.” Maggie put the plastic back into the trash bag and tied it up. “She’s asleep in my bed, but… I thought it was important for her to have her own for when she’s ready.”

“Oh yeah,” Alex nodded. “I totally get that.” She shifted her weight around and looked at the floor. “I, uh, just wanted to drop this stuff off.”

“You can stay, if you want,” Maggie gestured toward the door. “I know we need to talk. We just have to do it while I put together a bed with almost no mechanical skills.” She caught Alex’s eyes and grinned playfully. “It’ll be funny.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Alex nodded, realizing that that was why she came over and not just to lay gifts on Maggie’s doorstep. “Maybe I can help so you don’t break your trigger finger.”

Alex walked into the apartment first. All of the furniture in the living room had been pushed against the wall and parts of a black twin bed were scattered in the empty spaces on the floor. Maggie lifted the beer and root beer from Alex and took them to the refrigerator. She paused with the door open, “Do you want a beer?”

“Uh, no not yet,” Alex looked down at the octopus in her hands. She held it in both of her hands and stared at it so hard that she didn’t notice Maggie next to her until her hand was on Alex’s lower back. 

“She’s asleep, but you can give it to her if you want,” Maggie offered. There was a nervous quiver in her voice. 

Alex wasn’t sure if Maggie was nervous for her or for Jaime, but she nodded slowly and took a careful step into the hallway leading to Maggie’s bedroom. It was a short hallway and stopped in front of the closed bedroom door. 

“You don’t have to,” Maggie whispered. There was more than an escape from giving Jaime a gift. There was an escape from everything in her words. Alex knew that Maggie was giving her a chance to walk out of the apartment and never look back.

After a calming breath, Alex opened the bedroom door. The bed looked so much bigger with the tiny body in the middle of it. Long wavy hair laid out across Maggie’s favorite pillow. The huge blanket moved up and down slowly with each of Jaime’s peaceful breaths. 

Alex slowly made her way to the bed while Maggie stood near the door, leaning on the frame. Alex looked at Jaime and was stunned by how much she looked just like Maggie. She couldn’t see her eyes, but her nose and chin, her eyelashes. They definitely had the same hair. 

Alex stopped next to the bed and looked at the octopus in her hand. She set it down on the bed next to Jaime and walked back toward the door. 

“Did you get the gun out from under the bed?” Alex asked, suddenly remembering as she walked out of the bedroom with Maggie. 

Maggie quietly closed the door and nodded. “All of my guns are in the freezer. I don’t know what to do with them.”

“I guess Jaime is taking your workout room too, huh?” Alex asked, stopping in the living room to survey the pieces of bed on the floor. 

Maggie nodded. “I’ll just move most of it into… the living room I guess.” Maggie stopped walking and talking. She looked at the bed in the middle of the floor and put her hands on her hips. The worry only grew deeper and darker over Maggie’s face until Alex spoke up.

“Maggie.” Alex waited for Maggie to look at her. Then she smiled. “You got your daughter back.”

Alex’s smile passed to Maggie’s face. Maggie grinned widely. “I did.”

“Are you nervous?” Alex asked, but knew the answer.

“Terrified,” Maggie answered. “And overwhelmed. There’s a lot to do right off the bat.” 

Alex could sense Maggie’s nerves and opted to redirect her attention. “Well, first thing is first. We assemble the bed. But probably in Jaime’s room because we won’t be able to get it through the doorway if we put it together out here.”

“I didn’t even think of that,” Maggie stepped closer to Alex. “It’s a good thing I couldn’t get hardly any of it done.”

Alex chuckled and patted Maggie on the back. “It’s okay. We’ll figure it out.”

They moved all of Maggie’s workout equipment into the corner of the living room, then moved the bed pieces into the second bedroom. It didn’t take Alex long to put the bed together and they ripped open the mattress together, placing it on the frame. 

“I like it,” Alex stood in the doorway with Maggie. The bed was the only thing in the room. 

“You don’t think it’s a weird bed for a kid?” Maggie wrinkled her nose. “I mean, she picked it out, but...”

The bed was a modern design with a solid black headboard, all squared angles and straight lines. “I like it,” Alex defended the bed. 

Maggie chuckled. “Of course you do.” She touched Alex’s arm for a moment before walking back to the living room. Alex lingered, looking at the bed before following her. 

Maggie was moving the living room furniture back in place so Alex went to the refrigerator and got out two bottles of beer. She opened the drawer and pulled out the bottle opener. “I take it you had pizza for dinner.”

“Yeah,” Maggie ran her hand through her hair. “I also have to buy groceries.”

“Oh no,” Alex teased, “For the first time in your life? Do you need directions on how to get there?”

Maggie laughed and wagged her finger at Alex. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

Alex sauntered back into the living room and offered Maggie her beer. They both took a drink at the same time and Maggie looked at her apartment. She started to turn back toward Alex, when she saw a shadow outside of her window. She narrowed her eyes, trying to see into the night. “Kara?”

Alex frowned and looked to where Maggie was looking. She moved toward the balcony door and opened it. When she stepped out, she found Kara pressed against the wall, trying not to be seen. “Kara what are you doing here?”

“Well, I was in the neighborhood,” Kara gestured to the street. “A car was out of control.” She flapped her cape around behind her. “And I thought, I’d come see little Sawyer.” Kara looked away from Alex and spotted Maggie stepping out onto the balcony. She had a hard time containing a smile until she gave in and gushed. “She’s so cute!”

Maggie grinned and gestured Kara inside. “You don’t have to look through the wall.” 

Kara stepped around Alex, sure that she had overstepped her bounds with her sister. She didn’t want to deal with it immediately, so she followed Maggie into the apartment. By the time Alex walked inside, Kara was nowhere to be seen and Maggie was cleaning up the packing materials from the bed. 

“You okay?” Maggie asked, seeing how preoccupied Alex was.

“Yeah,” Alex set her beer down on the coffee table. “I hope you don’t mind that I told Kara.”

Maggie smiled. “I have accepted at this point that anything I tell you will end up getting to Kara.”

“Just,” Alex looked toward the hallway where her sister was gushing over Jaime. “be careful. Kara will want to babysit all the time.”

Maggie tossed the empty box toward the door and chuckled. “Well as long as they don’t go faster than thirty miles an hour and stay below cruising altitude, I think that’d be okay.”

Alex crossed the small space between her and Maggie. She had come to a very important conclusions. “I want this. I want to help and I want to be with you. I’ll respect whatever boundaries you set and I get that that means our sleepovers are going to be far less frequent, but… that’s okay. I love you. I’m pretty sure I already love Jaime.”

Tears popped into Maggie eyes and she exhaled shaky air. “I – I… thank you.” She moved toward Alex and they fell into each others arms. Maggie closed her eyes the tears falling out from under her eyelashes. “I’m so scared, Alex. I don’t want to mess this up.”

“You won’t,” Alex assured her. She leaned back to look at Maggie’s face. “It’ll be tough, but you’ll learn and we’ll adjust.” Alex dipped her head down and kissed Maggie. She could feel Maggie’s entire body relax under her arms. It made her smile against Maggie’s lips that she could do that. 

“Uh,” a voice came from the hallway. Then a clearing of a throat. 

“Mommy?” Jaime’s tiny voice asked. “Why are you kissing her?”

“Oh shit,” Maggie whispered, ducking her head onto Alex’s collar. 

Alex looked toward the hallway and saw Jaime holding Supergirl’s hand. Supergirl smiled nervously. “Sorry. I was taking a picture and I woke her up.”

Alex nodded and placed a hand on the back of Maggie’s head. “It’s okay. We’d have to have this talk eventually.”

Maggie nodded as well and stood up straight. She offered her hand to Jaime who let go of Kara and walked over to her. They sat on the couch while Kara and Alex sat on the loveseat. Maggie explained that no matter what her dad taught her, love is love as long as it’s between consenting adults. Then she had to explain what consent was and although she got some skeptical looks, it helped that Supergirl was there to agree with everything Maggie said.

“Alex is going to be around a lot, okay?” Maggie asked. She smiled at her daughter and pointed to the octopus in her hands. “She gave you that because she wants to be friends.”

Jaime looked curiously from the octopus to Alex. Alex smiled nervously. Her heart was pounding. She wanted Jaime to like her so badly. 

Then Jaime looked at the octopus again before walking around the coffee table and stand in front of Alex. 

Jaime bit her lip and furrowed her brow. “Thank you.”

Alex smiled. “You’re welcome.” She looked over at Maggie who was beaming. 

Jaime put her arms around Alex’s shoulders and Alex hugged her back with an ethereal smile on her face. There was a flash and a shutter sound. Alex opened her eyes to find her sister looked at her phone and muttering that she thought she turned that sound off. 

  



	3. Chapter 3

Maggie took Jaime to her new bed, but offered to let her stay in her bed until Jaime’s room was decorated. Jaime opted for Maggie’s bed and Maggie stayed with her until she fell asleep.

“I’m sorry I woke her up,” Kara sincerely apologized when Maggie walked out of the hallway. 

“I’ll forgive you if you send me that picture you took,” Maggie smiled kindly at the woman in the cape. 

Kara took out her phone and immediately texted Maggie the picture. After she did, she hugged Maggie. “If you need anything, let me know. I’ll come dressed in this or my normal clothes.”

“Well I am already the coolest mom ever because I know Supergirl, but I think next time, she should meet Kara,” Maggie glanced over at the kitchen where Alex was holding her phone in her hand and looking through the cabinets. 

“Absolutely,” Kara beamed. “Thank you so much for letting me meet her. She’s precious.” Kara glanced at Alex who was very focused doing whatever she was doing in the kitchen. “Um, tell Alex to call me?”

“Of course,” Maggie nodded and walked Kara out to the balcony. Kara gently started floating up in the air so that she didn’t wake Jaime. 

“Hey Supergirl,” Maggie called before Kara had completely cleared the building. 

Kara turned around, her cape flapping in the breeze. “Yeah?”

“You’re welcome here anytime. You don’t have to use the balcony,” Maggie shot Kara a wink. 

Kara grinned brightly. “Thanks, Maggie.” She turned around and shot up into the sky. 

Maggie walked back into the apartment, emotionally and physically exhausted. She sunk down on the couch and looked toward the kitchen. “Babe?”

Alex stopped what she was doing and looked up at Maggie. 

“C’mere,” Maggie called. 

Alex walked to the couch and sat down next to Maggie. Maggie immediately leaned into her. Alex wrapped her arms around Maggie and kissed the top of her head. “Are you okay?”

“I’m trying to be,” Maggie sighed heavily. She held onto Alex’s waist, so, so thankful that Alex was with her. She sniffled, fighting away tears again. Instead she asked, “What are you doing in the kitchen?”

“Making a grocery list,” Alex answered. She looked at her phone over the top of Maggie’s head, then moved it in front of Maggie’s face. 

Alex held the phone while Maggie scrolled through the meticulous list. “I already have peanut butter.”

“It expired last year,” Alex leaned her face on Maggie’s head. 

Maggie pulled her legs up onto the couch and tucked her feet under herself. “Alex, what if I mess up?”

“You’ll mess up,” Alex rubbed Maggie’s shoulder. “It’s all part of parenting. You learn. You’re smart and you love her.” 

“It happened so fast,” Maggie picked up Alex’s hand that was resting on her knee. She looked the hand over and traced the outside of Alex’s fingers. “There’s so many things to do.”

“We’ll make a list,” Alex looked at her phone and opened up a blank list. “I looked at some pre-schools around your office and I found some sites for babysitters if you need them.”

“When did you do this?” Maggie sat up to look at Alex’s face.

Alex looked guiltily away. “Um, when I was in line at the store getting the beer and octopus.”

Maggie took Alex’s face in her hands and kissed her. She kissed her with all of the built up emotions behind her mouth and Alex could feel it. She felt Maggie’s fear and elation. She felt Maggie’s anxiety and joy. She felt Maggie’s thankfulness and all the love that Maggie had for her. 

In that moment, Alex felt warm all over. No one had ever kissed her like they loved her as much or as deeply as Maggie did. Sometimes Maggie wasn’t the best at showing it, but she could when it mattered and when Alex needed it. 

Maggie broke the kiss and cuddled into Alex’s side. “Will you go with us to look at pre-schools? I don’t know what to look for.”

“Yeah,” Alex nodded. “Of course.” She played with the ends of Maggie’s hair. “I bet we could even bring Kara to see what’s going on behind closed doors.”

“Great idea,” Maggie  smiled, content on the couch with Alex. “I’ll go get my laptop and we can start looking.”

Alex waited for Maggie to get up, but she never did. “Uh, Maggie?”

There was no response. When she looked down, she found Maggie’s eyes had closed and her breathing was slow and even. Alex smiled and kissed her forehead. “We can start in the morning.”

  



	4. Chapter 4

It was a few weeks later and Jaime had settled into living with Maggie. She was shy at first, but grew to love her home and her mom. Everyone got into the swing of things and Maggie had started working regularly again after a brief desk assignment just to get used to everything.

“Oh man,” Maggie picked up the corner of the tarp over the alien body on the ground. She looked away before looking back at the body with her lips wrinkled to one side. She looked around the scene as Supergirl and Alex approached her. 

Maggie lowered the tarp until they were closer and let them peak underneath. “We don’t know a lot right now.  No ID, no person affects. As you can see by the singe marks, his clothes burned off, but he’s perfectly fine.” She looked at Alex. “You know anything about this guy?”

Alex shook her head, studying his face. “When I get back to DEO, I’ll start facial recognition and tissue analysis.”

Maggie put the tarp down and stood up. She looked at her watch. “I have to go pick up Jaime, but I’ll start searching our database as soon as the sitter gets to my apartment.”

“I can pick her up,” Supergirl offered. 

Maggie looked at Kara, cocking her head. “You sure?”

“Yeah!” Supergirl smiled. “I got her a shirt a few days ago and I’ve been waiting to give it to her. There’s not much I can do until there’s something to punch so...” She looked at Alex and wiggled her eyebrows.

Maggie looked at Alex who smiled at her and explained, “She had a shirt made with the Kryptonian symbol for hope.” Alex gestured to Kara’s chest. 

“Great,” Maggie teased Kara. “In addition to the birds and the bees, I’m going to have to explain that her favorite human isn’t really a human at all.”

Kara grinned brightly. “So I can pick her up?”

“Kara can pick her up,” Maggie stated. 

Kara nodded. “Awesome. Call me if you find anything.” She blasted off before either one of them could add anything. 

Alex looked over at Maggie. “Sorry I didn’t text you back last night. I fell asleep at my desk.”

“You should come over tonight,” Maggie scooted subtly closer to Alex, trying to keep it semi-professional in front of the other officers and agents. “I am going to make stir fry and keep a fire extinguisher handy because I don’t know how to cook.”

“Sounds amazing,” Alex  looked quickly around them before touching Maggie’s arm. Maggie put her hand over Alex’s and they shared a sweet smile. 

Their touch was quickly dropped and they both made their way back to their respective offices. Maggie’s boss told her to kick off first because according to department policy, she already had double the amount of overtime that was allowed. She would usually ignore him and stay at her desk, but she was ready to go see Jaime. 

When she walked into her apartment, Kara was chasing Jaime around the couch. Jaime was wearing a cape that looked very familiar and a shirt with the Supergirl ‘S’ on it. 

“Mommy!” Jaime squealed when she saw Maggie walk in. 

Maggie held her arms out and Jaime jumped into them. “Hey, baby girl. How was your day?”

“Great!” Jaime grinned. “I made a picture. I want to show you.” She wriggled out of Maggie’s arms and ran off to her bedroom. 

Kara walked over to Maggie. “Hey, find anything?”

“Not much,” Maggie gestured to the bag over her shoulder overflowing with files. “I got some leads, but they’re all pre-digital so I got to spend a fun hour in the archive basement. How’s Jaime?”

“We have a little problem,” Kara sighed. She looked toward the hallway before leaning toward Maggie. “I don’t think the glasses are fooling her.”

Maggie laughed. “That’s my girl.” She smiled and took a deep breath. “Well, we’ll just keep telling her that you just look alike and then if we have to tell her, we tell her that it’s a secret. I don’t want anyone knowing that she knows who Supergirl is.”

“Right,” Kara nodded seriously. “Me either.” 

Jaime came streaking back into the room with a hand-drawn picture. She presented it to her mom with a proud smile. Maggie accepted the picture and looked it over. The printed title was ‘People Important To Me’. Under it were a handful of people.  There was one man that Maggie immediately recognized as Jaime’s dad. Maggie’s smile faltered so she moved her eyes away from him. The next person was her, jeans and her black leather jacket. Maggie grinned at Jaime’s depiction of her. The next person was standing close to Maggie with short red hair. 

“Who’s this?” Maggie knelt down next to her daughter and pointed to the woman next to her.

“Alex!” Jaime giggled. 

Maggie smiled. 

“Oh no,” Kara breathed behind Maggie. She leaned over and pointed to the last person in the picture. It was unmistakably Supergirl with her cape and skirt, but on her face were Kara’s glasses. 

Maggie snorted and looked up at Kara. “Honestly, how does that fool anyone?”

“It fools everyone!” Kara defended herself. “Except a trained detective and a five year old.” Kara put her fingers on the bridge of her nose. “What if I got colored contacts?”

The front door opened and Alex walked in with a bag of groceries. She smiled when Jaime took the picture away from Maggie to show it to her. 

“Alex,” Kara started because she knew what was going to happen when Alex saw the picture. 

It only took a second for Alex to burst out laughing. “Face it, Kara, those glasses are no match for the Sawyers.”

Maggie picked up Jaime and kissed her cheek. “You’re too smart, kiddo.” 

Jaime smiled contentedly and laid her head on her mom’s shoulder. Maggie closed her eyes and held her daughter. 

Alex watched the pair with a loving smile. She glanced at Kara who looked like she was about to squeal with joy at any second. It made Alex smile wider. She continued to put groceries away, then folded up her reusable bag. She noticed  the drawing still on the counter. As much as she wanted to tear off the part where Jaime had drawn her dad, Alex knew she couldn’t. It would upset Jaime so she turned to the refrigerator with it. “There are no magnets.”

“Shoot, I knew I forgot something,” Maggie put Jaime down. “I’ll get some tomorrow.” She moved her work files from the couch to the coffee table and turned to Kara, “Are you staying for dinner, Little Danvers?”

Kara smiled. “I don’t want to intrude.”

“Maggie’s making stir fry,” Alex added.

“Yes please,” Kara looked to Maggie. 

“Aunt Kara!” Jaime called from her bedroom. 

Kara followed the little girl calling her name and disappeared into the hallway. 

Maggie walked toward the kitchen and caught Alex who was walking toward the living room. She caught Alex around the waist and kissed as before going into the kitchen. Alex grabbed Maggie’s work files and sat at the stools at the kitchen island. “You okay with that?”

“With what?” Maggie asked, starting to gather the ingredients for dinner. 

“’Aunt Kara’?” Alex pretended to be nonchalant about it. She slid a file in front of herself and flipped open the cover. 

Maggie shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I be?” She cut a piece of bell pepper and popped it into her mouth. She saw the drawing on the counter. “It’s definitely better than Kara Supergirl.”

“ I was just wondering,” Alex quickly dismissed the line of questions. She moved some papers around in the folder. “Ew, do you want to have nightmares tonight?” She picked up a photo of a crime scene and showed it to Maggie. 

Maggie smiled. “Gross.” She ate another piece of bell pepper. “Which one is that one?” 

Alex looked at the front of the folder. “A-743-Met.” She frowned. “I don’t recognize that filing system.

“A class ‘A’ threat number 743 first reported in Metropolis,” Maggie continued to chop vegetables. “Old school.”

“I’m guessing we’re pre-digital because this alien is older than the electronic records,” Alex opened up the next folder. 

“That is my theory,” Maggie  moved to the oven and turned it on. 

Alex watched Maggie move about the kitchen, thinking over their unknown alien problem. “I’ll ask J’onn tomorrow. He might know something we don’t.”

“What planet is he from again?” Maggie asked, pouring oil into her saute pan.

“Mars,” Alex answered automatically, but the look on Maggie’s face made her remember that Maggie wasn’t supposed to know that. “Ugh, you.” She pointed to Maggie. “Are you an alien too? That can detect other aliens?”

“I’m just a human detective who spends a lot of time with aliens,” Maggie winked at Alex. 

Alex leaned on the counter with her chin in her hand. She tried to frown at Maggie, but Maggie was grinning from ear to ear. “Stop smiling. I’m trying to be mad at you.”

Maggie just smiled more and leaned over the counter toward Alex. “Really?”

Alex narrowed her eyes, trying to be strong, but she couldn’t resist. She took Maggie’s face in her hands and kissed her. Maggie came away chuckling while Alex was trying to glower, but couldn’t even get her smile off of her face. “Unsuccessfully so.”

“ I can see that,” Maggie resumed cooking dinner while Alex started going through the files. Occasionally Maggie would ask if there was anything interesting and Alex would point some things out, but ultimately it got them nowhere. 

“Jaime,” Maggie called toward the back of the apartment. “Dinner time.”

“Kara,” Alex mockingly called as well. “Dinner.”

A mad rush came down the hallway as Jaime streaked into the living room and Kara was close behind her. 

“I should really get a table eventually huh?” Maggie set Jaime and Kara’s bowls at the bar next to where Alex was sitting. 

Alex took the folders from the bar and walked them into Maggie’s room. She set the folders on Maggie’s desk and stopped off in the bathroom to wash her hands. While she was washing her hands, she saw a little toothbrush next to hers and Maggie’s. A little green dinosaur held onto the handle of the toothbrush and Alex remembered those first few nights where she’d go shopping with Maggie and Jaime then when she got home, she’d be on the phone with Maggie until Maggie fell asleep because they were trying to find a way to balance their relationship with Jaime. 

It didn’t stop her apartment from feeling lonelier than usual. Alex was used to being alone, but now that she had Maggie and to some extent Jaime, her apartment was like the void of space. 

Maggie’s apartment felt like home. With the clothes all over the ground and the tripping over toys. With the incessant giggling of a girl happy to have her mother and the fond smiles Maggie shared with Alex when Jaime did something cute.  That was home. 

She finished washing her hands and walked into the kitchen where Maggie was pouring a glass of wine. “Kara? Wine?”

“No thanks,” Kara covered her mouth as she chewed. “I drove.”

Maggie grinned knowing that wine wouldn’t affect Kara, but she wouldn’t drink and drive anyway. Maggie poured another glass of wine and looked at Alex who was slowly emerging from the hallway. Their eyes met and neither one could stop a smile. 

In that moment, Alex was sure she’d never been happier. 

  



End file.
